The Cave of Now is a difficult place to be in, mainly
because it forces me to look at my life each day – both before and after the
fact – and reflect, anticipate, seek to enjoy and squeeze ever drop out of now that I can. As I’ve been thinking
about that lately, I discovered that easily the most important part of my day
recently has been the time I’m spending with God in Scripture. Specifically, I’ve decided to read through
some Old Testament books and study characters.
I’m also taking a course online to improve writing skills
(more on that to come probably) and the goal is to write every day. My character studies and desire to write more
is the perfect environment to share some of the things I’m learning. I will start today with Enoch from Genesis 5:
21-24.
He lived in a time where men were living 700-900 years a
pop. (And I thought being 30 was old!)
His great great great great grandpa was Adam.
Enoch fathered Methuselah, the oldest ever guy in Scripture. His great
grandson’s name is Noah. So, in Genesis
5, it’s just this list of guys, how old they were when they had their first
children (180 years old and having kids?!) and how long they lived. There is literally no other biographical
information. Just read the first 20
verses of Genesis 5! Did they have a
family run business? Where they
carpenters? Farmers? Where did they take
their family vacations? The text doesn’t
tell us a thing about these men… but each of them lived roughly 800 years on
Earth!
But Enoch. Whoa. He gets 3 verses and they are stunning:
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became
the father of Methuselah. After
he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years
and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with
God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (Gen 5: 21-24)
Here were my observations:
2. He only lived half a life
compared to his contemporaries! He lived 365 years. Everyone else lived 800+ years
3.
He didn’t die??! It just
says “he was no more, because God took him away.” Uh…
For me, the biggest take away from Enoch is that quality of
life matters more than quantity of life. He had half the time of others in his
days and yet, his mention in Scripture is that he was “faithfully walking with
the Lord.” This is challenging to me,
especially since I get even less time than he did (and I won’t be having kids
at age 65!). It forces me to ask the question, am I living faithful to the
Lord? Would people around me say
that I’m faithfully walking with God? It’s
not so much that I want to be recognized for it, but that friendship with God
is such a rich blessing. It brings
joy in the midst of difficulty, contentedness in the midst of scarcity, peace
in the midst of anxiety. The benefits of walking with God are great in this
life and infinitely greater in the next.
I think Enoch saw and lived this idea. He understood that a
life lived with God, though it may appear short comparatively, is the best kind
of life to live – a better life.
I want a better life - do you?
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